


Dance of Life

by FawnoftheWoods



Series: Not Alone Anymore [24]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers as family, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Dancing Lessons, Dancing Steve Rogers, Gen, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 15:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17769359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FawnoftheWoods/pseuds/FawnoftheWoods
Summary: Steve has worked with teams before.  But with his partner MIA, he is having a hard time melding well with this team.  Phil and Natasha have an idea.





	Dance of Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RikasGrayWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikasGrayWolf/gifts).



> I know after teh last story we wanted follow up with Bucky and all, but that scene is refusing to come together and I wanted to post something in this series to celebrate my Masters Thesis Defense being completed.
> 
> Request by [ RikasGrayWolf ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikasGrayWolf/pseuds/RikasGrayWolf) for dancing.
> 
> Request: "Natasha teaching Steve ballet so that he's more fluid and graceful in his movements (even if he still barrels shield first with various flying kicks XD ). Madam Natasha seems like a glorious instructor for a super soldier with a near eidetic memory. :3 And a plus is bro bonding time! Lol and Steve in more tights. ~///^ Lol i feel like Clint would get dragged in as her assistant and Tony would wind up dragged in cuz he just looked entirely too amused."

Steve winced as his shoulder collided with Natasha’s.  They’d been training together for nearly 13 months and he still couldn’t work well between her and Clint.

Nat and Clint were a thing of beauty on the battlefield.  When one went high, the other went low, where one zigged, the other zagged.  Steve could watch that endless waltz for hours, intrigued by the seamless dance they made of two bodies.  

Next to them, he felt clumsy, oafish almost.  

He knew part of it was emotional.  The serum had given him impeccable balance and a sense of spatial awareness that exceeded most human’s.  Generally, his missteps were not enough to be noticed by an observer, but he could bet that Natasha noticed them.  Not that she said anything. She simply adapted for his style and flowed around him. It worked well, and he couldn’t complain about the outcome, but sometimes watching what she could do next to Clint made him wish he could meet her halfway.

It also made him miss Bucky more than anything.  

After the serum, Bucky couldn’t keep up with him physically and before Steve would have an asthma attack just as he got started.  But in conversation, in communication, in all the ways that they could be partners, they melded into one person. What Steve learned, Bucky learned.  What Bucky learned, Steve at least attempted.

That was why Bucky was the only other person during the war to ever carry his shield.  Bucky could throw it almost as well as Steve. 

Steve shook his head and shoved the painful longing away with practice.  He’d been doing that for a while. Bucky wasn’t ready to be found and the Avengers needed Steve.

Steve glanced up as Sam swooped above him to drop off another thug from nearby.  Tony had taken to diving into the middle of a group of them and tossing them at Falcon.  They were working well together, even though they’d only been in the air a few weeks together.  Tony had designed the original wings and had redesigned the new ones, so he knew their performance better than anyone, except maybe Sam.

“ _ Captain, on your left! _ ”

Steve automatically rolled at Clint’s warning.  He felt Natasha flip over him and take down a shoulder cannon.  He sighed and shoved his head back in the game. This was not the time to worry about it.

* * *

After the battle, he gave his report to Phil, who would combine all the Avengers’ reports and turn them in to Hill.  Then he had retreated to his floor and watched the footage of the battle.  Often this helped him evaluate the team better.  He could notice more from a 3rd person view than during the heat of battle.

He could see where his train of thought veered off onto the topic of partners.  It messed with his fighting considerably and Natasha had given him more space to stay out of reach of his shield.  He felt a bit nauseous at that. He scrubbed his hair with his fingers in frustration.

His team shouldn’t have to compensate for his lack of control.  If he could find where he started to lose control, maybe he could do something about it.

JARVIS told him he had visitors as he was just about to start his fourth watch-through.  Pausing the screen, he rose to greet Natasha and Phil as they entered his floor.

“Phil, Tasha, what can I do for you?”

Phil seemed to take him in a moment before speaking.  “I have some training I would like you to begin with the Avengers.”  

Steve blinked, and then felt himself flush in embarrassment.  He’d messed up badly enough that Phil had even noticed and felt the need to take action.  “Yes sir.”

Phil sighed.  He glanced at Natasha and nodded.  Tasha shrugged and left, apparently not needing to say what she came for.  Steve watched her go in confusion. Phil gestured to the couch, “May I?”

“Of course.”  Steve sat with him, feeling very much like a school boy.  “What training do you require of the Avengers?”

“Not require.”  Phil glanced at the screen still frozen with Steve dashing up a street.  “Steve, you are the leader of the Avengers. Their training is your responsibility.  But you aren’t alone in that responsibility.”

Steve blinked at him in confusion, “Sir?”

“Steve.”  Phil maintained eye contact and Steve felt some of his tension seep away.  This wasn’t just his S.O., this was Phil, his friend, his teammate.

“Phil?”

Phil smiled at the hesitant name.  “I have a lot of background in training agents, Steve.  Perhaps not as much as desirable in training extraordinary people like the Avengers, but the basic principles aren’t that far off.  I’m more than your teammate, I’m a resource.” 

Phil gestured at the screen, “Analyzing the battle can only get you so far.  Let me help, Steve.”

Steve sighed, placing his head in his hands.  He didn’t look at the screen. He didn’t need to.

“I don’t know what happened.  I was focused, then I wasn’t. Its my fault, not the teams.”  

“Okay.  So what distracted you?  Can you remember what you were thinking about?”  Phil’s voice was soft, non-judgmental. Steve found he needed that right now.

“I miss Bucky.”

Phil nodded and waited.  Steve had thought it would be hard to say more, but it all came spilling out.  Watching Tasha and Clint together. Even Sam and Tony could partner up decently.  Steve hadn’t felt so ashamed of himself, he was jealous! He should be glad his team worked so well.  They did, except for him. Tony could pair with Clint without any trouble. Had to, since the archer made a habit of warning Tony  _ after _ he had jumped off a twenty story building.  Sam did okay with Natasha when it was needed.  He could see some raw edges to their teamwork, but they’d only known each other a few weeks so it stood to reason.  Even Thor could pair up with Hulk without getting in each other’s way.

Why couldn’t he do it?

Phil sat calmly throughout the verbal vomit, as Tony called it.  When Steve was done, Phil let him sit another moment before responding.

“You aren’t the only one, Steve.”  Steve looked at him incredulously, but Phil continued, “Sam has a similar problem.  Its less pronounced because he’s air support so he has more time where he isn’t in close proximity to a teammate, but you’ll notice Clint hasn’t jumped for him yet.  Thor isn’t in the same boat, but he’s not on the same level as Natasha, Clint and Tony either.” 

Steve stood, “Why?  Tony wasn’t even a team player before this, yet he does partner work better than I do?”

“That’s why I came today.”  Phil had risen as well. “I have a way to help, training that will help, if you will try it.  Tasha has no problem being the trainer and I’ll speak with Clint and Tony about assisting. Do you want to try it?”

* * *

The next day, Steve entered a room warily.  He wasn’t sure what to expect. 

Steve had agreed immediately, saying he’d tell Sam and Thor to come.  When he asked about Bruce, since Hulk’s teamwork was iffy no matter what, Phil had simply told him he’d discuss it with Bruce after the first few sessions.  

So now he was poking his head in a room in the tower, hoping to not make a fool of himself in front of his team.

“Are you going in or standing out here?”  Training had kept Steve from jumping at Tasha’s presence, barely.

“I wanted to make sure this was the right room.”  Steve’s weak explanation earned him a snort from her as she entered the room, turning on the lights.  The room was a common work out room he’d seen elsewhere. Shiny wooden floor and a wall of mirrors lit up the room.  There was a row of benches to one side and a handrail along the mirror wall. He wondered briefly if they were going to do one of those cardio fitness classes he’d see once.  

He dropped his towel and sweatshirt on the bench as Tasha started basic stretches.  He was just starting his own warm-up when Sam arrived talking with Thor. It had taken over two months of working with Thor to convince him to stretch prior to exercising with the group.  He still didn’t see the point, but Thor was game for most anything, and went along with the rules. Thor usually picked a teammate to mimic for warm up. Since Tasha was running this session, Steve wasn’t surprised when Thor picked her to mimic and left Sam to join Steve on the floor.

“Any idea what we are doing beyond ‘teamwork exercise’?”  Sam’s question was met with a shrug. Steve had asked, but Phil asked him to try it first, explanation after.  When Sam had asked Clint, he had stated that if he was doing this training  _ again _ he was allow to watch their faces when they realized what it was.  Tony had been told to show up and that he already could do the activity so he was coming to help.  Apparently he was grouchy because neither assassitwin would tell him what it was. Steve privately thought it was so his curiosity would have him attending.  

Sure enough a moment later, Tony and Clint entered, bantering something about breakfast foods.  Both were wearing normal work out gear so no clues there.

“Okay, everyone up and against the wall.”  They all followed Tasha’s order. “Tony, center with Clint.”  Tony sighed dramatically, but they were all used to following Tasha when she got that tone of voice.   “Good, Clint, following.” She ignored Clint squawk of outrage, “JARVIS, please?”

Instrumental music flooded the room at her request.  Steve didn’t recognize it. It was a fast paced, swinging beat.

Tony whined.  “What? But I already know this!”  Tasha fixed him with a look that had him swallowing his words with a huff and a scowl.  Then he grinned, “Wait, birdboy is following, that mean I’m lead?”

Tasha rolled her eyes as Clint growled at the smirking engineer, “Yes, because I know you can lead, no point to demonstrating a movement you are unpracticed at.” 

Tony sputtered at that, but before he could mount a proper response, Tasha clapped, “swing, east coast!”  Tony and Clint sighed as she started her clapping and counting from 1 again to the music. They had to practically spring at each other to be holding hands when she got to twelve and both men started moving at the same time.

Steve blinked as the two sashayed their way around the floor for a minute in a lively dance.  Then Tasha called out “Clint, train!”

Suddenly, Clint released Tony’s hand and threw a punch.  Tony blinked, but didn’t respond, since the punch came nowhere near his face.  Their feet didn’t change at all and by the time they were through the routine another 3 turns, Tony was returning punches and blocks, without batting an eye.  Steve watched in amazement as Clint slowly circled Tony, keeping his feet identical to before, but moving to more advanced moves. Gradually their feet shifted into something less dancing and more sparing, until Steve saw moves he knew Tony rarely used in a fight seep into the spar and all pretense of a dance ended.  They bounced back and forth for a minute before Tasha called out again.

“And Dance!”

This transition was smoother.  Clint caught Tony’s punch and they slid smoothly back into the dance they had been doing, albeit a bit more fancy, as they pulled out moves that were more artistic.

When the music ended, both men were panting, sweating slightly.  Steve watched as Tony bowed low to Clint with a cheesy grin and Thor hooted his enthusiasm.

“That was most magnificent, Shield Brothers!  You dance as the warriors of fire!” Thor delved into excited talk about the name of the dance, what other dances they could do, why had he not been shown this wonderful dancing, ect.  Steve tuned him out to look at Tasha as she came over.

“We’re going to learn to dance?”  He saw Sam’s skeptical look next to him.  She huffed.

“Partner dancing, yes.”  She waved at Clint and Tony, who were demonstrating the dance moves for Thor as he chattered excitedly.  “Clint learned it in the circus and Tony grew up in the arts so they have known partner dancing all their lives.  It is why they can partner with any of us reasonably well.”

She turned back to them, “All sparing has a rhythm to it.  Both your opponent and your partner will follow this rhythm.  Phil pointed out to me that the three of us are using that ability to match your rhythm.  It works well, when we don’t have to stretch our abilities in other areas.”

“But when things get a bit beyond our normal, adapting to another’s abilities becomes harder.”  Steve finished for her, sighing. He could see what she was saying to some extent. They had been modifying their style to fit his, since he couldn’t match theirs.

Sam blinked at them a moment, “You think learning the Cha Cha will help?”

“The ChaCha is not a good partner dance for sparing.”  Natasha said that with a completely straight face, but Steve suspected she was messing with Sam.

“Come on.  I had a partner before.  Riley and I worked great together without needing this.”  Sam wasn’t complaining as much as calmly pointing out an inconsistency in their logic.  Steve wondered the same thing with him and Bucky.

Natasha shrugged.  “One partner is easier.  You only need to learn one style besides your own.  But the Avengers roster is 8 people currently. Can you learn 7 different styles?”

Sam seemed to consider this a moment before nodding at her grumpily.  Steve still looked at the floor nervously. He remembered very vividly the last time he had asked someone to teach him how to dance.  Peggy was now confined to a bed, with something called Alzheimer's Disease.  The name may be unfamiliar, but Steve knew the deterioration that came with old age. She barely recognized him most visits. He glanced at Tony and Clint.  They’d been precise, if awkward, right from the start. 

“Okay, Clint get over here.  You’re pairing with Steve. Tony, you pair with Sam.  I’ll pair with Thor after I get you four started.” Tasha beckoned Thor over and started up some sort of slower music with a heavy, steady beat.  “Steve, Sam, you’ll follow first. That allows your partner to worry about guiding you. I’m teaching you a basic box step.”

Steve glanced at Clint as the archer approached.  Clint gave him a smile and held out both hands. Steve heard Sam and Tony bicker next to him about holding hands, but he decided to tune that right out.  It was important he learn this, even if he did feel extremely uncomfortable and silly.

“Steve, I know what I’m doing, trust me.”  Steve hadn’t realized he was staring at Clint’s hands as though they were vipers.  He gave Clint what he hoped was a confident smile, but likely came out as a grimace.  Clint simply nodded and continued holding out his hands.

“Okay,”  Clint spoke softly after Steve had finally taken his hands, ignoring Tasha and the comedy twins next to them.  “Now the steps are simple enough. Your right foot only steps back.” Steve obligingly stepped back. Clint followed him, stepping forward.

“Next, your left foot touches your right and then steps left.  Then bring the feet together.” Again Clint followed the motion.  “Now your left foot only steps forward.”

Steve feared he’d step on Clint’s foot, but the archer moved before it was a possibility.  “And again, your right foot touches your left and then steps right. Now bring your left together.”

Clint mirrored him easily enough.  Even when he messed up the foot, Clint had no problem keeping his feet from being trampled.

“Good!”  Steve jumped as Tasha appeared next to them.  “For the next 24 hours, any time any avengers moved within reach of another avenger within the tower, they must do this for 5 cycles.  The more experienced person leads.”

Steve blinked before glancing at the clock.  They’d been working an hour. He glanced at Clint to get a thumbs up and then watched as the archer disappeared into the vents.  Tony vanished similarly quickly, but Steve wasn’t surprised at that. If Tony had been dancing since he was a kid, like Phil had said, this probably bored him silly.

* * *

The next 24 hours were odd.  Tasha had recruited JARVIS to help.  The only one exempt had been Bruce, but apparently the man could in fact dance at least this box step and had been fine being included in this exercise.  Steve had been nervous the first time he’d seen Thor in the kitchen. And then Clint in front of the TV, which JARVIS paused immediately. He’d seen Tasha more than a dozen times throughout the evening and wondered if she was stalking him and Sam to make sure they practiced.  He hadn’t seen Tony yet, but Pepper had breezed through with a harried look two hours after the lessons and Bruce’s comment about an R&D disaster so that was expected.

Breakfast was amusing as the entire team congregated, which meant everyone took a turn with everyone, except Tony who apparently hadn’t been to bed yet.  Tasha had left to wrangle him into at least 4 hours of sleep before the lessons, muttering something about attitude and snark.

Steve wasn’t surprised to see Tony standing in the dance room at the appointed time.  

* * *

The box step was fairly quickly learned and Steve and Sam were taught the leading role as well.  The next two days were ruled by the same dancing requirements, except the leader was the person more to the north, JARVIS being the judge.

They were called to help a clean up of a train wreck off in Jersey on the third day.  They’d been thoroughly exhausted when they returned, but Tasha enforced the rule as soon as they’d showered.

The fourth day they were set to learn a completely different step.  Steve went to the dance room early, wanting to get a bit more practice in switching between the two roles.  He’d been told by both Tasha and Tony not to think of this as dancing like he would do with a date. For one thing, unless he dated another guy, he’d be leading, period.  For another, he’d want to hold them close, which wasn't actually helpful in sparring. For a third, according to Tony, people didn’t ballroom dance on dates much anymore.

The room had music already coming from it, so Steve quieted as he approached.  He didn’t want to interrupt if someone else was practicing. When he glanced in, he froze.

He had known Tasha could dance ballet.  Several people had mentioned it was the Red Room’s cover, it wouldn’t have worked well if the girls couldn’t do at least basic ballet.  But Steve had never seen Tasha actually dance ballet before. Her graceful motions were almost shimmering and Steve was certain he could never capture the elegance of the motion on paper.  Tasha went through several motions that had her spinning mid air like she was weightless. 

He was so captivated by the movements of a body like Tasha’s, that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized Tony was standing next to him.  He didn’t look away from Tasha though. Tony was watching also. Steve assumed, being a sponsor of the arts, Tony had seen ballet and this wasn’t that odd to him.  Tasha pulled off a series of spins that made Steve a bit nauseous. When she came out of the last one, landing on her knee, she nearly toppled. Steve heard her curse to herself under her breath.

“You aren’t fully hitting 5th position.”  Tony comment had Steve staring at him. Tasha glanced at him in consideration.  Clint dropped out of the ceiling at that moment. 

“Man, she looked amazing and you say she isn’t hitting it?”  Sam’s wry question had Steve smiling.

Tasha stood as she shrugged.  “Double Tours weren’t taught in the Red Room, so I’ve been learning them on my own.”  She looked at Tony with interest. “You said I’m not hitting fifth position correctly?”

Tony shrugged.  When she kept staring at him, he sighed and tossed his sweatshirt at the bench.  “Multiple Double Tour requires momentum from the previous double tour to kept it going.  You should hit fifth position a fraction of a second before you land and then spin out of it before launch.”

Tony was demonstrating something with his ankles, but as far as Steve could see, he was simply rotating on his toes.  He wasn’t sure how that was related to the dancing from before. Tasha was frowning in concentration though.

“You are under-compensating for the spin.   You end up with too much momentum and then you realize it and do the reverse, which slows you too much.  The inconsistency means you can’t predict your ending velocity.” Tony hopped twice before going into a spin similar to what Tasha had ended with.  He landed gently, but didn’t go down on one knee, freezing instead mid jump. He started pointing out different feet positions and their effect on the jump.

A few minutes later he had Tasha try again, this time ending after only 3, before she lost control.  He caught her waist gently as she landed and held her still as he talked about her feet. When next she tried it, even Steve could tell her control had improved.

“Wow, that was amazing, Tony!  I don’t think anyone’s ever been able to keep up with Nat in ballet.”  Clint was grinning from where he was perched in the corner of the room.  They had all watched the impromptu ballet lesson.

Tony shrugged.  “I did basic for my Mom when I was young.  When I had to deal with complicated balance equations for the suit, I picked it back up to use in mid-air.  The physics is the same.” 

“You mean you can do more than just analyze the move?”

Tony shrugged and went to collect his shirt again.  Steve saw Clint trade a look with Tasha. Apparently they came to the same conclusion he had, Tony wasn’t quite yet ready to talk about this.  

“Regardless, let’s move on to a side polka.”

This dance required a bit more coordination since there was hopping involved and if you didn’t hop with your partner you overbalanced.  Steve learned to watch the muscles in his partners legs for when they’d tighten and release. Tasha had them hopping around the room.

* * *

Gradually Steve saw the dancing spill into their sparing as the dance lessons moved to once a week.  Tony’s erratic bouncing around made more sense and he could follow Clint and Tasha’s acrobatic movements easier.  

The real notion that it helped came when Steve rounded a corner to see Clint falling off a building too far from Tony.  Steve leaped for him but instead of simply catching him and letting Steve’s enforced body take the fall, he pushed off Clint towards the building, shoving his teammate into the air.  Then he bounced off the building towards Clint as he began his descent again. The next bounce, Clint aimed his way at another ledge and Steve let himself roll into a landing on the ground ten feet below.  He could have never pulled that off before. He wasn’t sure about Clint, but he knew his grin was wide enough to fall off his face. 

Maybe Tasha could teach him ballet next.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I didn't actually teach Steve Ballet or get him in tights, but this was what came to me from the prompt. Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
